A 13-year-old boy drowns in Ko Dawn Lake

A 13-year-old boy died after entering a lake in a village in Ko Daun.

The police received a report about the boy’s safety at the Canal Court in Scarfa around 3.30 pm yesterday.

PSNI, Air Ambulance and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attended the scene.

The boy was taken to Craigavon ​​Hospital, where he later died. The police do not treat the death as suspicious.

A Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) spokesperson said: «NIAS received a call on 999 at 15:27 on Monday 19 July following reports of an accident at Lake Scarfa.

The NIAS dispatched an emergency crew and an ambulance officer to the scene.

“The charity air ambulance with the emergency medical service crew on board the helicopter was also assigned the task of the accident.

“After initial assessment and treatment at the scene, a young patient was taken by ambulance to Craigavon ​​District Hospital.”

A group leader at the NIFRS described the incident as «a tragic, tragic accident on a summer’s day that should have been so much fun.»

Gary Magwood said the boy had difficulty swimming with a group of friends in a lake in the Canal Court area of ​​Scarva.

He said it had a «devastating effect» on the emergency crews who attended the scene and on the wider community, and offered his condolences to the young boy’s family.

Mr Magwood said a number of devices and response officers have been dispatched from Banbridge, Portadown and Newry, along with the Air Ambulance Service and PSNI officers.

«Our condolences to the family, this is a traumatic incident including the crews who were from the local area and were known to the family,» he said.

Magwood said there were six deaths in the UK over the weekend in the water and urged all people to be aware of the dangers of swimming in cold water and to familiarize themselves with all aspects of water safety.